President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that no Americans were killed in the Iran attacks on Iraqi bases housing US troops in retaliation of the killing of Iran military general Qasem Soleim.
"No Americans were harmed in last night's attack by the Iran regime. We suffered no casualties. All our soldiers were safe," said Trump in his address to the nation.
In the wee hours of Wednesday (local time), Iran fired dozens of missiles at two Iraqi bases housing US troops in retaliation of the American strike that killed the country's 'beloved' military general last week.
Trump also reiterated: "As long as I am the President, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon."
There is a growing belief among administration officials that Iran deliberately missed areas populated by Americans, multiple administration officials told CNN.
These officials floated the notion that Iran could have directed their missiles to hit areas that are populated by Americans, but intentionally did not.
Iraq did receive advance warning that the strike was coming and was able to take "necessary precautions," according to a statement from Iraq's Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi.
Iran President Hassan Rouh, a while ago, said that the country's final answer to the killing of Qasem Sulaim, the commander of the country's elite Quds Force, will be to kick all US forces out of the region.
Soleim's death has marked a dramatic escalation in tension between the US and Iran, that has often been at a fever pitch since Trump, in 2018, chose to unilaterally withdraw Washington from the 2015 nuclear pact the world powers had struck with Tehran.
( With inputs from ANI )